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Photo: courtesy of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority
Walkers will benefit from the first donation of materials to the new Three Peaks Project launched earlier this year by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA).
The project aims to involve charities, organisations and individuals in helping to maintain and conserve the network of paths crossing the Ingleborough, Pen-y-gent and Whernside area, which has to cope with about 250,000 visitors a year.
The high number of walkers means the paths need more maintenance more frequently than many others in the National Park – and it can be very costly.
One way in which local businesses can help is to make donations in kind – and that’s exactly what building materials giant Lafarge has done by supplying and delivering 120 tonnes of gritstone.
It has been used to resurface part of a footpath leading from Clapham to Ingleborough, according to YDNPA Three Peaks Project Manager Steve Hastie.
The stone was flown by helicopter up to the section between Gaping Gill and Little Ingleborough and has been compacted to form a good walking surface on this popular path. Other work will include a section of reclaimed flagstones,
“This is the first donation of materials to the project and we are very grateful to Lafarge for it,” Steve said.
“The stone is part of the underlying geology of the hill so it’s great to be using something local.
“We have a very limited budget to pay for the huge annual maintenance bill for the footpath network and a donation like this means we can spend what we have on other vital work needed to look after this fragile area.
“We hope that, as the project grows, more and more local firms and communities will make donations, whether its materials, willing volunteers or money and by joining the friends of the Three Peaks.”
Lafarge Dry Rigg Quarry manager Mick Lambert said: "We were happy to help out as partners of the Three Peaks Project. It was a natural decision for us to be involved in this section of the project, as our quarry is situated so close to the Peaks.”
Background
In 1986 the Institute for Terrestrial Ecology carried out a study of the condition of the path network in the Three Peaks area and concluded that the region had the sad distinction of possessing the most severely eroded network in the UK.
The following year, the first Three Peaks Project was established by the YDNPA with a staff of 13. Its remit included trialling new path-engineering and re-vegetating techniques to provide sustainable routes and to allow damaged surrounding land to recover. The mid-90s and early 2000s saw a number of externally-funded projects completed, each with one or two extra staff appointed.
However, since 2004, the management and maintenance of the Three Peaks network has reverted back to the YDNPA’s Rangers – a team of just two officers covering the whole of the wider Ribblesdale area.
The latest project aims to create a sustainable source of both practical and financial support that will help protect and enhance the area and the rights of way network into the future. Since its launch, many of the charities that regularly use the Three Peaks for sponsored events have volunteered to donate money towards the upkeep of the area.
And the YDNPA has produced merchandise to celebrate walking one, two or all of the peaks and has launched the Friends of the Three Peaks, a group being set up to help support the Authority’s work in the area. Anyone can join by making a suggested minimum annual donation of £10. By next year the Authority hopes to have an events programme members can take part in, with activities like Area Ranger-guided walks and chances to do practical things like path maintenance.
And they will also be kept up to date with developments in the project through a newsletter.
Anyone wanting to become a Friend should log on to the YDNPA website at http://www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/friends_of_the_three_peaks_membership_form.doc and complete the form before returning it to:
Friends of the Three Peaks
c/o Josie Simpson
Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority
Colvend
Hebden Road
Grassington
Skipton
North Yorkshire
BD23 5LB
along with a cheque made payable to ‘Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’ and marked on the reverse ‘Friends of the Three Peaks’.
Alternatively, you can visit a National Park Centre and give an Advisor the completed form and membership fee in cash or cheque.
